the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Ah, New Jersey—home to great pizza, terrible traffic, and a budget strategy that makes Monopoly money look responsible. Today, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) is begging lawmakers to do the unthinkable: stop spending like a teenager with their first credit card.
Murphy’s Budget Balancing Act—Or Lack Thereof
In Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest FY26 budget proposal, we get a thrilling sequel to his greatest hits—more taxes, more spending, and more structural deficits. Here’s a fun fact:
📈 In Murphy’s seven previous budgets, an extra $5.5 billion magically appeared in final spending after his initial proposals. Contrast that with the eight budgets before him, where final spending actually dropped by $3.2 billion.
📉 Oh, and about that pesky structural deficit—Murphy’s proposed $1.2 billion shortfall marks the sixth time in seven years that New Jersey has spent more than it makes. In total, we’re looking at a whopping $7.6 billion in deficits compared to a pre-Murphy era when revenue actually exceeded spending (gasp!).
NJBIA: “Maybe Stop Spending So Much?”
NJBIA’s Christopher Emigholz politely suggested that fiscal responsibility should make a cameo in this year’s budget. He even acknowledged that Murphy & Co. deserve some props for paying pensions on time and fully funding schools—basic responsibilities they’re treating like heroic achievements.
But here’s where it gets wild: while they increase spending on pensions and education, they’re simultaneously slashing funds for manufacturing, innovation, and higher education—aka, the very things that fuel economic growth. Makes total sense, right?
Emigholz calls this “schizophrenic budgeting,” but let’s be real—it’s just classic New Jersey logic.
What Would You Cut? Oh, I Don’t Know… Maybe the $1.2B in New Taxes?
Gov. Murphy’s plan to raise $1.2 billion in new taxes is like setting your wallet on fire and then asking why it’s empty. These new taxes will make New Jersey less affordable, less competitive, and more of a national punchline.
NJBIA is urging the Legislature to hold the line on new spending and send back a budget that at least pretends to be responsible. Will they listen? Unlikely. But hey, at least we can enjoy the show.
Want More Budget Drama?
📜 Read Emigholz’s full written testimony [here].
📺 Watch him break it down on NJBIA’s Minding Your Business [here].
What do you think? Is Murphy’s budget a responsible investment or just another round of financial Jenga? Let us know in the comments!
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Thank your lucky stars and stripes that Josh Gottheimer is the only candidate with a detailed plan to cut taxes and make NJ more affordable for everyone, especially our seniors who feel pushed out because of the high cost of living.
hes so full of shit. i saw the jersey values lower taxes signs for last 2 elections. obviously bs and he always votes with pelosi. so much for that other lie about problem solver
if we dont get a republican we are screwed
Let’s see how ridgewood’s taxes are going to be.
The headline describes the Village Council to a T
maybe murphy can mortgage those choppers and put it into tax releif fund
Murphy and Gottheimer are really full of it! Gottheimer vote straight liberal all the way
Jersey values!!
lots of scams to fund Democrats
My money says Josh will overwhelmingly win the Ridgewood vote,
since we are….
RICH and STUPID
(Check back after the election… you’ll see I was correct.)
Guess what people it doesn’t matter how the governor is gonna be, taxes will never go down. How can they we need to maintain everything. If not, it’s going to look like back in the 70s. Remember that one shit show later all over the place, potholes, roads falling apart bridge is going to shit no one cleaning up parks it can’t happen.
Grammarly, please!! Almost unreadable.
Hey, just look at BERGEN county how much they spent since Covid, brand, new parks, brand new buildings, they have been doing an amazing job with repairing everything, the roads have been improved big time, now they gotta maintain everything and that cost you can’t just replace rebuild repair and leave it
Grammarly, please!! Almost unreadable.